Sunday, November 16, 2008

It is amazing to me that companies like Riedell have not caught on to the fact that roller derby utterly and completely destroys the toes of your skate boots. Very quickly. Those toe guard things they sell do not do the trick. If you look at the toes of roller girls you will likely see a lot of duct tape. Some folks do get more creative. I've seen bike tire tread, for instance, which is pretty cool.

Right now my skates look like this: I have the traditional Riedell toe guard (black) over a hand made leather toe cover (blue) that I bought at ECE. The toe covers looked cool but did not last very long, although I heard that they were selling versions with more durable leather, but had sold out by the time I got there. So there is a lot of duct tape in addition to those two things. And I can tell that this won't last very long either. So I am in the market for new toe protection.

I found this interesting toe cover from Skechers (http://www.skates.com/Skechers_Toe_Covers_p/sctc.htm) that I might try out:There are also a couple of products out there that you can brush directly onto your boot that are supposed to create a hard layer on your boot toe. For instance, A.L.21 Sports Toe Guard Hockey Skate Protector and Pro Guard Hockey Skate Toe Protector. I don't know anyone who has tried these, but at around $5 it seems like it might be worth a try.

Anyone else out there found a better (or cooler) way to protect yor toes? I'd love to hear about it.

Rollergirlskates.com came up with these neat vinyl covers they call Toesavers and have made them available to a bunch of other vendors. At least half a dozen vedors were selling these at Nationals. They also come in a matte black not shown on the page. They look like they'd be super durable and resistant to the turning and sliding that make traditional toe covers pretty useless. Take a look.

I haven't tried them yet, but I plan on buying a set from the pro shop at the rink we practice at. The guy who owns the rink ordered some just for us and he was super excited to show them off, it was funny!

I tried the toesavers, but they didn't hold up very well. Mine have already started to fall apart. Another girl on my team bought some, too and hers fell apart after just a couple of practices. The vinyl just doesn't hold up. I heard they were making a leather version, but I have not seen any for sale anywhere yet.

I bought the boot aids, they were a nightmare to try and fit, took ages to arrive (but they are in US and i'm in UK) but they didn't fit properly and had to be taped on, the wrap around bit didn't fit right either, they were a waste of money if you ask me.

Got some etsy snout covers for the toe instead and they're lasting well.